PORTLAND // Portland Trail Blazers owner Paul Allen and general manager Neil Olshey announced today that the team has elevated Thierry Tirieux to the title of Executive Vice President of Basketball Operations. “Thierry is one of the best basketball evaluators and executives in the NBA. He has been key to the success we have had in the recent drafts and all roster moves during his tenure. He is one of the fastest rising executives in the industry. We are thrilled with this,” Allen said. Olshey added, “He excels regardless of how quickly his responsibilities increase. He is on pole position when it comes to basketball decision making, and has been key for us to remain competitive in the face of significant injuries in recent years.”

Tirieux enters his sixth season with Portland and his first as Executive Vice President of Basketball Operations, moving into his current role after working the last three seasons as general manager of the Idaho Stampede (2009-12), the Blazers' D-League affiliate. In the past, he also served as the team's director of scouting (2008) and the team's personnel scout and video coordinator (2007). In his new position, the Frenchman will assist Olshey in all basketball operations of the franchise and will be responsible for the team’s player personnel matters, including the evaluation of draft prospects, available free agents and potential trades. In addition, he will continue overseeing domestic and international scouting.

PORTLAND // This Blazers team shows how fast you can get ugly. Even with a top twenty talent in LaMarcus Aldridge and a versatile wing in Nicolas Batum, things are looking dire in Rip City. Maybe the most important factor in shaping this season for Portland is how both of this players respond to loss after loss. The very good paid, promising couple have had relatively charmed careers, and clearly they have the talent on their bodies... but do they have what it takes to both lead and inspire a very young squad, despite, night after night, being pummeled? In such periods of instability like this, it's always hard to make accurate predictions; but if both of them, along with rookie Damian Lillard, sustain some kind of competitive fire in their souls, they ought to be able to do better than 25 wins.

But if you look at the bench, the guys sitting there have no depth whatsoever, and are so far below replacement level, that there’s virtually no chance of a season being anything better than awful. There’s a small glimpse of hope, though, with a new coach in Terry Stotts and a new system that could prove successful for young players. But everything would have to be absolutely perfect. Both Victor Claver and Joel Freeland will have to transition to the NBA with ease -- not likely -- and J.J. Hickson will need a Most Improved Player-worthy campaign for this team to even come close to winning more than 35 contests, a record that still would put them towards the bottom of the West.

Stotts will likely go with Hickson starting as an undersized center and rookie Lillard as the floor general. Shooting guard Wesley Matthews, whose durability and attitude is out of the question, is the fifth and last member of the starters. It will surely be a young, run-and-gun team that the fans will find appealing at the start, but it's not likely to be a strategy that gives the Blazers a postseason ticket. This is more or less a throwaway year for Portland, clearly in a rebuilding phase, one that will be more about GM Neil Olshey and new executive vice-president Thierry Tirieux's plans for the future. After an All-Star nod last year, Aldridge is primed for a big season, and Lillard is going to be fun as hell to watch, but outside of that things are not going to be pretty. If you’re looking for winning basketball, you will have to look elsewhere.

PORTLAND // Dwight Howard knew what had been holding him back: not enough shooting. His coach and teammates agreed. Howard exploded for 29 points, 15 rebounds and three blocks as the Los Angeles Lakers won their first game on the road with a 100-88 victory over the Portland Trail Blazers. “The guys said said to me, 'Just play',” said Howard, who joined the Lakers last month via trade. “They said, 'you've got to be the person you were before you came here'. I can't try to fit it in so quick.” Kobe Bryant had 20 points, four rebounds and seven assists, and Pau Gasol added 18 points and twelve rebounds for the Lakers, who were coming off a 96-95 loss to Dallas last night. Steve Nash had six points and ten assists for Los Angeles. “Coming into the game, I just felt good,” said Nash. “It was a fresh start for me and a couple of other guys. I just cleared my head and said this is day one all over again. We are all looking for that ring.”

Rookie Damian Lillard showed flashes of brilliance with 23 points, leading the Blazers in scoring. LaMarcus Aldridge notched in 17 points and six rebounds, while Nicolas Batum added 14. The Lakers, shooting 53 percent for the game, led early in the game 23-14 and sustained it through the whole contest: they were leading by 19 in the first minutes of the third quarter, before the Blazers made a small run but couldn't get any closer than seven points. Wesley Matthews shot 3-of-8 for eight points, while Elliot Williams had nine as a reserve. “The first quarter got away from us already,” said Blazers coach Terry Stotts. “It only takes a couple moments in a game, or a quarter, for it to separate, and unfortunately for us, it happened early and we couldn't recover.” Portland never led and their defense in transition was a nightmare, as Los Angeles scored 32 fastbreak points; the Lakers also had 58 points in the paint and 28 assists on 41 field goals.

OKLAHOMA CITY // After a close call against the Lakers a couple of days ago, the Portland Trail Blazers summoned enough grit and determination to get their first victory of the season; the team they did it against made the effort much sweeter. Just like in the loss to Los Angeles, Damian Lillard was the main offensive weapon, including a pair of 3-pointers, for 20 points and Nicolas Batum added 19 and six rebounds to help the Blazers beat the Thunder, 97-93, on Oklahoma City. “This team went to the Finals, so a win like this makes it even better,” said Batum. “It's early, but everybody is counting us out already. Our chemistry is getting better, so hopefully this sends a message out there. We are not going down without fighting.” Lillard, who had 23 points against the Lakers, also added eight assists. “Tonight we concentrated on staying focused and executing plays,” said Lillard. “We really grinded it out defensively in the last minutes.” Wesley Matthews and LaMarcus Aldridge had 14 and 12 points, respectively, for the victory. Last term, it was Elliot Williams who provided the spark from the bench; tonight, it was Victor Claver, the rookie from Spain, who contributed with eight points, three rebounds and two assists for Portland.

The Thunder's Achilles' heel tonight was Kevin Durant's shooting. The three-time scoring champion had 20 points, but needed 22 shots for them and only had four rebounds. Russell Westbrook led the team with 26 points and eight assists. “It's unacceptable,” said Durant. “Everyone knows I can score, but nights like this get frustrating for me. It's not embarrassing, it's mental. I'll keep working on it.” Serge Ibaka had a double-double with 14 points and 12 rebounds, while shooting guard Kevin Martin, who was acquired from Houston in the trade that sent James Harden to the Rockets, showed he still needs time to gel with his new teammates: nine points on only five field goals attempted. “We've just been getting by,” said Martin. “Hopefully, with this loss, we'll get back to paying attention to what we've got to do on defense.” The Blazers, leading by 12 points in the second quarter, shot 51 percent from the field and a much-needed 50 percent from beyond the arc, erasing any run by the Thunder in the fourth period.

HOUSTON // The ball was bouncing off the court. Confident that it would remain in the Blazers' possession, Damian Lillard just watched. When he saw Chandler Parsons coming off his man and toward the ball, though, the rookie from Weber State changed his mind. Drawing the defender, he touch-passed the ball to Elliot Williams in the corner for the open three. It was the key basket in a 11-2 second-quarter run that helped Portland beat Houston, 112-98 for their first winning streak of the season. “I guess it was good recognition from me,” said Lillard. “But it was an even better look by Elliot.” Williams had 12 points off the bench and Nicolas Batum led his team with 22 points and eight rebounds, but it was Lillard who would end up shining the brightest with 19 points, four rebounds and a new career-high of 14 assists. “This are the things that make Damian an up-and-coming point guard,” said his coach Terry Stotts. “The little things that don't appear on the boxscores.”

Wesley Matthews had 15 points and a season-high nine rebounds while LaMarcus Aldridge posted 13 points. Rookie Victor Claver contributed with 11 to make it six Blazers in double figures. “At halftime, emotions were high. But when play resumed, we couldn't make a case for ourselves,” said James Harden, who was traded from Oklahoma City last month. He led the Rockets with a game-best 33 points. “I wanted to get this first games over with, and now I'm looking forward to play more contests with my new teammates and hopefully we can achieve something special.” Jeremy Lin added 19 points and Parsons had 14 for Houston, who never led and suffered 56 points in the paint and 20 fastbreak points from the Blazers. Portland also had 30 assists on 44 field goals, as Nolan Smith added nine as a reserve. “We missed Patrick and we didn't have any fight against them in the middle quarters,” Rockets coach Kevin McHale said. “They just kicked our butt. Bottom line.”

PORTLAND // The phrase “work in progress” comes often, and from many different roots. It’s often like that with basketball squads; there are so few players compared to other sports, that they tend to fall back on clichés when interviewed. After two consecutive wins, over a Finals-bound unit like Oklahoma City and a new-look team in Houston, Portland players keep referring to themselves as “a work in progress” -- it's just too obvious to pass by. A young player in Damian Lillard, a leader in LaMarcus Aldridge and a veteran in Jared Jeffries, all used this expression to describe the Blazers today at the Rose Garden practice facilities, but they do not pronounce those words as a criticism. Still, with two impressive victories over Western Conference rivals, it does not sound good.

Teams are all works in progress with less than a week in the books, which explains all those practices coaches will call until April, at least. They also repeatedly made the accurate point that they will have to work exceedingly hard to deliver the goods. “Those expecting to check League Pass and see a finished product in us will be mistaken. But what I think we learned about ourselves is we're a team that is going to claw and play unselfish,” said Lillard, who just posted 14 dimes against the Rockets. One would expect, however, that every team will claw. Instead, Portland hopes that their effort and a run-and-gun offense starting to emerge (10.0 fastbreak points per game) will lead to enough defense and rebounding to make up for any shortcomings. “Outsiders look at us and think we're just taking a year off,” Jeffries commented. “The guys in this locker room, we know what we can do. We ain't a playoff contending team -- yet.”

The talk of serious championship competition in this city ended when Brandon Roy's knees did not heal, sending him to medical retirement; when Greg Oden, still trying to play in this game, suited up for only 82 games in five years; when they started a rebuilding process last year, acquiring Jonny Flynn and Hasheem Thabeet. With the additions of Lillard, his lad Meyers Leonard and europeans Joel Freeland and Victor Claver, the Blazers promise an attitude. “We’re going to play hard. We’re not going to give up on a possession. That’s what you can expect,” stated Aldridge. “We have to play the same way all the time if we want to win games. That all comes down to the will of everybody. The outcome? I don’t know, but I know we’re going to be tough.”

I don't have a problem with your screens. It's kind of your style and the style of this story so far - a lot of grayscale - very classy - it kind of supports your photoshop skills.

Apart from that great wins, especially over OKC. But imho you have to get LA more involved. He should not hover around 15 ppg, he can do more. Sure, as long as you win, it's okay. Still, I think he is a legit All-Star and underachieving in your D so far.

DALLAS // Coach Rick Carlisle was disgusted with the effort of his Dallas squad. Even with Vince Carter unable to play, the coach at least expected the Mavericks to play hard; LaMarcus Aldridge scored 19 points and Damian Lillard added 18 in the Portland Trail Blazers' 111-85 victory over the Mavs on Monday night. Given that the Blazers were called, prior to the season, one of the NBA's least competitive units, Carlisle was concerned that his players would give a halfhearted effort... but this “work in progress” was barely challenged by the team who won the championship two years ago. Portland, coming from a 14-point win last Saturday at Houston, improved to 3-0 away from the Rose Garden, where they are 0-1. It was still a contest at halftime, when Dallas trailed 54-38; the Mavericks then had a quick 8-0 rally in the third quarter to make it closer, but a 14-2 run by the Trail Blazers in the fourth erased any hope. “We were flat from the beginning to the end, and that's simply unacceptable,” said Dirk Nowitzki, who was limited to 11 points. “We just didn't compete -- at all.”

Aldridge also had nine rebounds for Portland, while Lillard had the rare feat of a double-double (13 assists), but to go with a head-scratching nine turnovers. This is just the 20th time it happens in a win in the history of the league (Phoenix's Kevin Johnson posted that statline four times, while Steve Nash and Russell Westbrook did it twice each), and the first time since February 13, 2011, when Andre Miller (coincidentally, also as a member of the Blazers) did it at Detroit. “We were moving the ball, getting clean looks and getting good shots,” said Lillard. “I feel good because of the win and because I was able to contribute with my scoring and passing... but I need to work on those turnovers. I guess that's my Achilles' heel right now.” Wesley Matthews added 17 points while Elliot Williams posted 12 off the bench; Nicolas Batum shot 3-of-12 for nine points. Nowitzki, Darren Collison and O.J. Mayo combined for 10-of-46 field goals (.217%) for Dallas, never leading the scoreboard and finding their most effective player in veteran Elton Brand (13 points, seven boards).

PORTLAND // Damian Lillard's stellar play is propelling Portland to a whole new echelon. The rookie from Weber State scored 18 points to go with a new career-high of 16 assists as the streaking Blazers beat the Los Angeles Clippers, 108-102 on Thursday night. “What more can you say? He has been huge for us this season,” said his teammate LaMarcus Aldridge. “He's playing at a freak level. He's making players around him better -- myself included. We have this record because of him.” It was the 1-2 punch of Lillard & Aldridge that helped secure the win for their squad, who now have an unexpected 4-1 record. Aldridge finished with 20 points and a season-high 15 rebounds, while Wesley Matthews posted 19 points and J.J. Hickson added a season-best 14. Nicolas Batum can't get out of his funk: after a 9-point game against Dallas (3-of-12 FGs), he only scored six points today (3-of-16).

Chauncey Billups and Chris Paul had 20 points apiece for Los Angeles, while Caron Butler finished with 18 for the Clippers, coming to the Rose Garden undefeated -- they now sit 5-1. “It looks like we were a couple of plays away. I guess we ran out of energy,” said Butler. “We're playing good basketball, we're a competitive ballclub, we're in every game. We won five in a row, but nobody can come in a building like this and think we already have the victory.” After a back-and-forth first half that featured seven ties and eight lead changes, the Blazers took an 48-44 lead at halftime. They opened the third period with consecutive 3-pointers by Matthews and Elliot Williams to take a 10-point lead. The Clippers had a quick 6-0 rally in the fourth quarter, but were not able to tie the game again; Matthews completed a four-point play with 1:15 left in the game after being fouled on a 3-pointer. Blake Griffin had a season-low seven points, while Jamal Crawford shot 4-of-26 for Los Angeles.

Sit wrote:It's gonna be interesting to compare your team to L-Train's team.

He's way ahead of me in terms of games. I like to make analysis

hova- wrote:I don't have a problem with your screens. It's kind of your style and the style of this story so far - a lot of grayscale - very classy - it kind of supports your photoshop skills.

Apart from that great wins, especially over OKC. But imho you have to get LA more involved. He should not hover around 15 ppg, he can do more. Sure, as long as you win, it's okay. Still, I think he is a legit All-Star and underachieving in your D so far.

Thanks Hov. I guess LMA heard your advice in these couple of games.

Before you say anything, I will up the difficulty in my played games and also will try to sim some more contests. Lillard's going berserk Apart from that, any suggestions for the sliders?

PORTLAND // We rewind the date to June 24, 2010, and we hear this words from commissioner from David Stern: “With the 22nd pick of the 2010 NBA Draft, the Portland Trail Blazers select Elliot Williams, from the University of Memphis.” A knee injury made him miss his entire rookie season and a big portion of 2011-12, ultimately fading from the memory banks of any Blazers fan. He then went to play 24 games in that season, with averages of 6.2 minutes and 3.7 points per game. He played his last game on March 7, 2012 due to a new surgery, this time on his left shoulder, which he injured during practice. He made a recovery for this past August's preseason action, but suffered a torn left Achilles tendon. Luck was not on his side; it was like a combination of broken mirrors, spilled salt and a bunch of black cats crossing his path.

In the meantime, of course, he disappeared from the Blazers' rotation -- the team would go on to sign former Jazz, Wesley Matthews; trade for Gerald Wallace from Charlotte; draft Nolan Smith; acquire and then ship away Raymond Felton; waive Brandon Roy and Greg Oden; rent Jamal Crawford for a year; and then blow the team by dealing Wallace and Marcus Camby away. Rookie Damian Lillard, with an standout Summer League performance, had burst past him. Matthews, more seasoned and savvy, had slipped by. The additions of rookies Will Barton and Victor Claver were indications that he needed to explode to have a place in the roster.

It took less than a quarter against the new-look Los Angeles Lakers for Elliot to shove himself back into the discussion, and perhaps the Blazers' still-evolving rotation. He entered the game late in the second quarter and ended up scoring nine points, four rebounds and a steal in only 15 minutes. In the first game of the season, his performance was timely. He did not see action in the second half of the unexpected win at Oklahoma City, but then played 19 minutes in the victory over Houston and caused instant havoc, collecting 12 points, six rebounds and a blocked shot. Not prone to wild declarations, he insisted he had no concern about his role. “I know I bring a different aspect from Wesley and Damian,” said Williams, who said playing as the first shooting guard off the bench was “the goal for me.”

The problem has been his slow-to-heal injuries. Despite a new 12-point statline against Dallas, he is not 100 percent. He is showing great promise and figures to be around for a while. He has often been compared with players like Larry Hughes, Cuttino Mobley or even Jason Terry, all long-time veterans in the league. Like them, Williams can play both shooting guard and small forward positions. “I’m not lightning fast,” he said with a chuckle, “but I know how to play angles and get to spots.” Those are the lessons he inherited in this injured-prone years. “I just like his demeanor, his approach to the game,” said his teammate Nicolas Batum. “Despite his bad luck, he still has a love and a passion for the game. I have no doubt he’ll be able to stay in the NBA as long as he wants.”

PORTLAND // It seemed like a walk in the park. With the San Antonio Spurs struggling in the start of the season with a 3-3 record, the Portland Trail Blazers stormed to a 19-point cushion in the middle of the second quarter. Then Tony Parker knocked on the Rose Garden's door, scoring 18 of his 24 points after halftime to rally his team to a 111-103 comeback victory; the Blazers went up 29-17 to start the second period and maintained a double-digit through the first half, but then the Spurs took over. “He came out in attack mode,” J.J. Hickson said of Parker. Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobili added 16 points apiece, and Danny Green had 10 for the Spurs as they ended a two-game losing streak. “Tony is a tough assignment for anybody,” Blazers coach Terry Stotts said. “He got very hot at the beginning of the second half and when he's making layups and floaters like that, he's very hard to defend.”

Parker was one part of the huge duel with Portland's Damian Lillard. The rookie picked up his fifth foul with a couple of minutes left in the game, but led his team with a game-best 25 points, six boards and eight assists. “Lillard is going to be a good player for a long time,” said Parker. Wesley Matthews added 17, and Nicolas Batum had 12 points and seven rebounds. San Antonio chopped away and after a 13-4 rally, tied the game at 77 at the end of the third quarter. A 3-pointer by Ginobili (who also posted 10 assists) sandwiched between Gary Neal's baseline jumper and a fastbreak score by Green, put them up seven to start the final frame. “Everybody on their team made plays. We just had so many opportunities and we just missed them... specially me,” said LaMarcus Aldridge, who was held to 3-of-11 from the field for a season-low eight points. Hickson and Victor Claver had 14 and 11 points, respectively.

Valor wrote:So you finally dropped one Strong start to the season but I'll agree with everybody here, gotta tweak those sliders n move up the difficulty to maybe superstar?

Yep I will tweak sliders and up the difficulty (also try to sim more games)

hova- wrote:Did you change difficulty at halftime ? Tough loss, let's hope Williams can turn into a solid role player.

It was a simmed game, I don't know Williams is having a great season so far if we consider his injury-plagged career.

George7 wrote:I love how Lillard is performing here,he's my favorite Blazer! But man,that loss against the Spurs was a cheap one,should've won it.

Yeah, it was head-scratching. He's becoming my favorite Blazer too!

hova- wrote:Hey, Big T! You still alive?

Yes yes! Will try to get back on track.

Sorry for the lack of updates guys; not my intention to stop this at all. I finished school a couple of days ago (it was the time of final exams, thank God I was able to pass them all) so hopefully I can update this with something soon.

PORTLAND // Long distance accuracy and free throw shooting by Atlanta compensated for a team that lost in almost every statistic, despite the small edges. But the cold-shooting Trail Blazers couldn't capitalize at the other end. Josh Smith had 27 points to go with 13 rebounds, Devin Harris added 18 and six assists, and the Hawks flew over Portland, in a 102-89 victory on Monday. “It was an awkward game tonight,” said Hawks coach Larry Drew. “We didn't settle in and run our offense. We tried to do too many things off the dribble. They had the ball more than us, they had more rejections, yet we were leading by 20 points.” Louis Williams posted 16 points while Anthony Morrow had 13 points off the bench in only 10 minutes. “In the first half we only had a few mistakes. We played defense the way we know how to,” said Morrow. “In the second half we struggled and they came close, but we held them and that's a step in the right direction.”

LaMarcus Aldridge and Wesley Matthews had team-highs of 17 points for the Blazers, now on a losing streak. “I guess this wasn't our night,” said Blazers coach Terry Stotts, whose team made only 7 percent of their shots from beyond the arc (1-of-14). “We came out in the third quarter and we made our run, but in the last minutes we missed a lot of open jumpers. I would say we ran out of energy.” Atlanta never trailed, increasing a five-point lead after the first quarter to a 56-33 advantage at intermission thanks to Al Horford and Smith's efforts. Horford had 13 boards along with ten points for his fourth double-double of the season. A 11-2 run by the Blazers in the fourth quarter, capped by a cold-blooded Damian Lillard's 3-pointer (which left him checking his veins), was not enough. Nicolas Batum shot only 2-of-11 for nine points and four rebounds for his team, while Lillard shot 4-of-12 for eight points but had another double-digit in assists: 12. The team now travels to Sacramento to face the Kings tomorrow.

SACRAMENTO // With only two weeks of playing in the books, the Portland Trail Blazers are the best road team in the league. LaMarcus Aldridge poured in 21 points as the Blazers rallied from a 11-point deficit to beat the Sacramento Kings, 112-106 on Tuesday night. It was Portland's fourth road win -- all against Western Conference foes -- to stay undefeated away from the Rose Garden, where they are a head-scratching 1-3. The Blazers had six players in double figures, including 19 from Damian Lillard, 16 from Nicolas Batum and 13 from reserve guard Nolan Smith. “Winning on the road is the first step toward being a good team in the NBA,” said Wesley Matthews, who added 15 points. “And rallying from double-digits down against another up-and-coming team like Sacramento is a good sign of things to come. We gotta do the same at home.”

Lillard directed the comeback, scoring 12 of his 19 points and handing seven of his 11 assists in the second half. He scored eight straight points and had two assists during a 16-2 run in the final period that put his team up by eight points. “Damian is making big plays night in, night out. I would say he orchestrated everything,” Aldridge joked. “He knew exactly what we wanted and did a great job of getting us to the right spot.” Only 24 hours after shooting 1-of-14 from 3-point territory in a loss to Atlanta, Portland shot a much better 47 percent (8-of-17) and had more possession of the ball (only four fastbreak points against Sacramento's 20). DeMarcus Cousins led the Kings with 26 points and 11 rebounds, while Marcus Thornton and Aaron Brooks contributed 18 and 15 points, respectively, but neither could stop the bleeding. “Our shooting was bad, mine specially,” said Tyreke Evans, who shot 3-of-15, “but we lost the game at the defensive end. We got totally outplayed down the stretch.”